Valorization of biomass to hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinic acid, and fatty acid methyl ester by heterogeneous catalysts

Biomass conversion to value-added chemicals and fuels over heterogeneous catalysts is one of the top issues in green chemistry. This review focuses on recent advances in the application of solid catalysts for producing three prominent bio-based chemicals, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), levulinic acid (LA) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from biomass materials, respectively. Our work highlights the perspectives and challenges during the conversion of actual biomass, including the impact of complex constituents and impurities of biomass on the solid catalysts, mass transfer limitation in the reactions, and the stability and deactivation of the solid catalysts. Transformation of solid catalysts from research to industrialization necessitates future work on identification of interactions between the catalysts and actual biomass, and comprehensive evaluation of the suitability of the catalysts in the reaction systems.